


The Name Amari

by CuriousWandererSquared



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Aleksandra "Zarya" Zaryanova - Freeform, Almost very minimal but I'll tag them anyway, And a very guilty Angela, Angry Fareeha, F/F, F/M, Fareeha is a dork and affectionate dammit, Jamison "Junkrat" Fawkes - Freeform, Mei-Ling Zhou - Freeform, Multi, Pharmercy, Random Overwatch people show up, fight me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-02 16:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10222076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuriousWandererSquared/pseuds/CuriousWandererSquared
Summary: You never really know how things will go. You can calculate and speculate, think of what you'll say and plan out every scenario in your head a thousand times but when it comes down to the actual moment, things never turn out exactly as we plan. Basically a Fareeha and Angela relationship fic but it's not so cute and fluffy.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first attempt at writing any kind of story or fic or anything really. Just an idea I had, and I wanted a story where Angela and Fareeha have an argument and have some kind of realistic obstacle in their relationship and not so lovey dovey all the time. Any who feel free to destroy my soul in the comments or if you kinda sorta enjoyed this, say so? I guess? *awkward shrug*

They had lied to her.

The sun was slipping behind the horizon as the evening sky began its transition from day to night. Fareeha stood in silence.  The dust desert breeze did nothing to cool her off. The sun’s warmth engulfing her, threatening to suffocate her if she stays here too long. Sweat slides down her neck and gathers on her forehead. Looking down at the simple stone slab, she stares until her eyes ache. Waiting in anticipation for something, anything to happen but it seemed just like the countless times before she would feel nothing close to resolution. No closure of any kind. Fareeha sighs and rolls her shoulders. She thinks how those closest to her would say things would get easier or how she would eventually come to terms with her loss.

It had all been a lie.

Fareeha did not feel any better knowing her mother was gone, she had not come to terms and things definitely did not feel _easier_. She knelt down to rub off some dirt from the words staring back at her, the limestone slab still having a slight shine to it after all these years.

_Ana Amari_

_Courageous Soldier-Loyal Friend-Loving Mother._

Fareeha shaker her head, trying to free herself of the memories that flash through her mind when she reads those words. It used to bother her that when she thought of Ana, the first thing that came to her mind was her as a soldier. Instead of her own other. Yet how else would she remember her? She recalls how her mother had shown her Overwatch, showed her fighting moves, told her of her missions and introduced her to Jack, Reinhardt and Gabriel. She remembers how her mother taught her to make tea and when the two shared a pot, it became Fareeha’s favorite thing to do with her mother. She cherished their tea sessions because it meant Ana was home safe and sound from her missions. Ana would tell her stories about how Overwatch was changing the world for the better and Fareeha never felt closer to Ana than when they had a simple cup of tea. Those were the happier days of her childhood where her mother Ana would spend the day showing her pictures from all around the world.

Fareeha’s throat tightens as her heart squeezes in her chest, the unmistakable burning in her eyes. She can’t decide if it’s from the memories she longs for again or for the sheer fact at how very _few_ she has to recall with her mother.

_She was always off fighting in her war._

Fareeha stands and wipes away the fresh tears gathering at her eyes. She clears her throat before walking away from the grave. She’s lost count of how many times she’s come to visit in the decade it has been since her mother hadn’t come home. Each time telling herself she would stop coming so often, only to say the same false promise the next time around.  Something pulled her back here, sometimes once a month and on rare occasions twice a week. She would come and stand here for hours, staring down at the name carved into the stone waiting to feel _something_. A presence, maybe hear her mother’s voice or have a warm breeze that smelled of her surround her as she stood motionless. Yet Fareeha was always greeted with the same desert wind, the dust filled air and the deafening silence. Fareeha walks towards her motorcycle, engine roaring to life as she looks back towards the grave once more. The calm wind dying down almost to mock her at how little emotion she feels here.

_I wish we could have tea once more, ‘ami._

~

  “Fareeha? Are you coming to bed, _liebling_?”

Fareeha is awoken from her thoughts as she hears Angela. Her vision clears and returns to the skyline. She sighs looking back towards the city of Giza, the lights glimmering in the night. The city moving to the bustle and sounds of the bizarre below, the night air dances around Fareeha but she does not feel the cold. Instead she feels numb as she looks to the city she once called home.

Overwatch, still in its newly reformed state, had sent them here on a mission to do some recon on Talon forces moving into the area. So far the team had found nothing out of the ordinary, and planned on returning to HQ tomorrow. The team had set up shop in one of the many old, original Overwatch safe houses in Giza for the past few days. With the situation being so calm, most had chosen to go into town for the day to do some exploring. Jack, call sign Soldier 76,  had told Fareeha he had a lead he wanted to follow up on at her old job with the Defense Force and had been gone since early morning. Winston stayed back to work on his newest invention with Reinhardt staying to keep him company. Hana and Lena had dragged Lucio out to go shopping and adventuring the city, Lena aka Tracer saying she wanted to see the sights while D.Va had said she needed her monthly sunshine time. Lucio whether he wanted to or not could had joined them. From either his girlfriend whining about it or from the fact that Lucio couldn’t win an argument against Lena on her worst day.

Fareeha had gone to see her mother.

 Angela had offered to accompany her, not wanting her to be alone but Fareeha had respectfully declined, stating it was something she wanted to do on her own. Angela had reluctantly accepted the answer and took the opportunity to visit the local aid centers run by Overwatch.  Fareeha smiled as Angela had walked out of the house this morning. She couldn’t burden Angela with her sadness and whirlwind of emotions, Angela had lost Ana too. All of Overwatch had lost a comrade, a friend, and a family member.

_She’d given everything for her war._

Now with the day spent, Fareeha slouched out on the balcony while Angela got ready for bed. Memories of Ana continued to flood her mind. The day Angela had come to her, told what had happened and how her world seemed to have closed in around her. Fareeha grinds her teeth thinking of the Talon assassin Widowmaker, and what she would do with her rockets should the opportunity to take down the Talon agent present itself. For whatever reason Lena would defend this Widowmaker as if she had not meant to kill Ana, Fareeha and her had gone at one another on more than one occasion over the matter. She thinks of the funeral, of the Overwatch members solemn and silent, of Angela holding her hand through the entire service and how in the years that followed she had been demanded to grown up faster then she wanted to. The years had changed her.

_They had changed Overwatch._

Reinhardt, Jack and Gabriel had given raising Fareeha their best shot. Until Gabriel was lost to them too, Jack did the best he could but he was a soldier. Fareeha blames her two adoptive step fathers for her lack of social personality, saying they were so focused on training her weapons that she never had time to make friends growing up. Fareeha would never complain though, they had done their best in raising a little girl into the chaotic world they both lived in. Lena had become almost like a sister to Fareeha with them both being so young, but Lena had helped her smile and showed how to laugh again. Fareeha had her sense of humor thanks to Lena, and Reinhardt took credit for her booming laugh, saying she’d taken after him after all the jokes they shared. Lena, for her credit, had been strong for Fareeha when she needed it, would argue when Fareeha was being too narrow minded and stubborn, but most of all would kick Fareeha’s ass into gear when she would slack off.

And Angela, well they had gotten close over the last few years.

Fareeha had tried to not notice how the good doctor’s nose would wrinkle slightly when she would laugh or how even after an intense battle the doctor could still look so beautiful. Fareeha fought the urge to sustain injuries just so she would have an excuse to go to the med bay to get patched up. She had grown up watching the doctor work day in and day out and she had never seen someone so beautiful but not realized how beautiful they were. The thick waves of her hair, or how her eyes shined so brightly some days they seemed to outshine the sky.

Of course Fareeha was a flirting disaster, Hana and Lena both saying nothing had changed still to this day but she waved it off. It obviously had worked. After joining the Egyptian Army and growing up some more, she was soon making the doctor blush and laugh. Eventually Dr. Ziegler caught onto the fake injuries or questionable request, it was very obvious since Fareeha was in perfect health and took very, _very_ good care of her physique. Angela would have lied to herself if she too tried to say she ignored how Fareeha had grown into a very attractive woman. She marveled at how noble and strong she looked in her Raptora suit, flying through the skies and making Angela feel butterflies when the soldier would let out a laugh. It had grown from casual conversation to Fareeha going to see Dr. Ziegler regularly, to lingering touches and god above the stares they would give one another. Especially on the battlefield, right before the mission would start and all hell would break lose, the two would stare and say a thousand words without ever speaking. D.Va would normally make gagging sounds and tell them to just kiss already only to have Dr. Ziegler blush like mad and Soldier 76 yell to get them focused. Fareeha grins at the memory of the doctor asking once a particular mission had been completed when she could expect to be asked out on a date and how Fareeha had turned into a stuttering mess.

The date had gone well, and their budding relationship had started with Fareeha asking Dr. Ziegler to be her girlfriend on the third date. She had agreed but on the condition Fareeha call her Angela from now on, the taller Egyptian agreed but it would still take two more dates before Fareeha would be comfortable saying her girlfriend’s name.

The night sky reminds Fareeha of the view from Angela’s bedroom at HQ, how the lights cascade and blend together to mirror the stars above. Angela had requested that room specifically for the view and Fareeha had no doubt that’s why Angela had gotten this room here in Giza specifically as well. She sighs, letting out a breath in an attempt to relieve the pressure she feels stuck inside her chest. Though the memories were happy, she could not shake her feelings from the grave visit today. These emotions strangled her and she desperately needed to break the tightening grip. Fareeha jumps slightly as two very warm hands wrap around her center and she feels someone’s forehead press in between her shoulder blades. Fareeha relaxes into the touch and places her right hand over Angela’s left, holding it there, making sure this was all still real. That Angela was real, and her affections were too.

                “Don’t leave me, come back to this world.” Angela murmurs against Fareeha’s spine, making her shudder slightly. Angela squeezes the taller woman, breathing in the honey and spices that hug Fareeha. That smell had become home the past few months as the two had continued to get closer. The Doctor had tried to keep things professional, just as the soldier had but time had matured the young Egyptian into a beautiful woman. And after their first date, Fareeha spilling her glass wine all over Angela but giving her jacket to wear home Angela was sold. She giggles at the memory of Hana telling them her opinion on a random mission, and how Fareeha had panicked when they mention of kissing had come up. Angela was not blind to her physical appearance either, but Fareeha was kind, hopelessly romantic and when it was just the two of them a real goofball.  Her sense o f humor was border lining obnoxious, definitely inappropriate but Fareeha loved her puns and Angela whole heartedly blamed Lena for that. That had been the deciding factor for the doctor though. Fareeha’s nature was always gentle and made Angela warm, she felt loved.  


Fareeha takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she grabs Angela’s arm gently, pulling the woman into her front so she could look at her. Angela smiles up at her warmly before she sees Fareeha’s eyes, filled with a sadness no one else would see. Fareeha wouldn’t let them. Angela was the one exception. There was a trust between that Fareeha shared with no one else but Angela. Angela had always been very perceptive to people’s emotions, her profession as a doctor not only demanded it but had fine tuned and perfected that skill. Fareeha had been her hardest case, the soldier had also perfected a skill. The ability to hide her emotions from all features, Angela frustrated as she might be never gave up trying to figure her out. Fareeha had let her in eventually, talking things out as they came up but Angela learned Fareeha’s eyes were here weakness. They were chocolate brown, warming and filled with sharpness that Ana had. But just like her mother, they also showed the emotions both Amari’s kept hidden.

She reaches up her hands, one resting on Fareeha’s collar bone while the other touched her cheek. Fareeha continued to stare forward, putting together the right words. Angela on her part never rushed when Fareeha would do this. Angela knows Fareeha will speak when she has something to say and if she remained silent it was because that’s what she needed. Fareeha’s eyes reflect the lights of the city, her tan skin looking almost red with the city in front of her. Angela smiles as Fareeha closes her eyes in thought. She calculates her every word and action before executing, the perfect soldier through and through.

                “How is it possible I miss someone I never really knew?”

Whatever words Angela had expected, those were nothing she was prepared to talk about. The truth was Angela did not have an answer, but Fareeha knew that when it came to her mother, no one really did. Not even her girlfriend. Fareeha opens her eyes and looks down at Angela, a gentleness in her orbs that make the smaller woman go weak in the knees. A searching look, one that Angela knows too well

                “She was your mother Fareeha, nothing can ever change that.” Angela responds, running her thumb over those high cheek bones she loved to kiss. “She’s a part of you, she’ll always be inside you and you love unconditionally. You are not afraid with your emotions, good or bad and you are both determined with them. In that aspect you are truly an Amari.”

                “She never acted like a mother.” Fareeha grunts, shaking her head and Angela sees the slight flash of hurt cross her love’s face. Fareeha had never felt good enough for Ana, never important enough and certainly never felt like a priority in her mother’s life. Fareeha became the perfect soldier in hopes it would fill the hole in her heart that her mother had put there, only to find that if anything it had made it bigger.

_I had to compete for her attention._

                “Fareeha Amari.” Angela’s tone changes into a serious one, grabbing Fareeha’s chin in her thumb and fingers to make the soldier look down at her. “You listen here, she loved you. And you have made her so incredibly proud. She just never wanted her life to become yours, she wanted something better. A life for you away from all this turmoil and chaos was her biggest dream. Never doubt that she was always thinking of you.”

                “You say that like she told you that herself.” Fareeha mocks slightly, but she’s grinning already.  Angela was just as stubborn as her but only got stern when needed. And Fareeha was putty in Angela’s hands so her sternness was seldom heard by the soldier. Her arms snake around the other woman’s waist, pulling her closer and her chest rumbles with laughter.

                “I know it to be true Fareeha, anyone could tell you.” Angela replies with a grin. “I just hope with us being as close as we are you might actually believe me.”

Fareeha can only return the smile before bending down to put her forehead to Angela’s. These simple things, the few words spoken were all Fareeha needed from Angela to bring her peace. She closes the space and lays a gentle kiss on Angela’s waiting lips. Then another and one more before picking Angela up and lifting her over shoulder as she turns away from the city below. Angela quickly, and uncharacteristically, lets out a squeal of laughter as she squirms to get back on solid ground. Fareeha will have nothing of it and tightens her grip on the woman’s waist as she heads inside to the bedroom. Angela makes demands and swears in German while hitting her attack’s shoulders, squirming to get free.

With as much grace as one can being thrown to the bed, Angela recovers and looks up at Fareeha, fighting back her laughter. Fareeha smiles down at the doctor, mischief in her eyes before she falls forward crushing Angela who laughs and tries to get her off of her. Fareeha pokes at Angela’s side and the smaller woman immediately starts laughing harder, commanding her to stop but the tears starting to form on her face only make Fareeha tickle more.

                “Fareeha I can’t breathe!” Angela gasps in between her spurts of laughter. Fareeha sits up so quickly Angela fears something is wrong and looks up with concern only to see mock hurt in the soldier’s eyes.

                “Did you just call me fat Dr. Ziegler?” Fareeha huffs before burying herself into Angela’s neck, blowing a raspberry and sending her back into a giggling mess. Angela’s eyes slam close and she pushes the face away from her neck, using her knees to try and lift the soldier off of her but Fareeha counters and pins Angela down. Smiling as she continues to tickle her side with one hand while the other fights off Angela’s attempts to get her off. Fareeha stops when Angela starts to wheeze, sitting up and rolling to the side. Angela lets out a gasping breath and huffs as she lets her body go limp, exhausted from trying to get free of the tickle attack. Fareeha slowly wraps her arms around Angela pulling her close, Angela stiffens at first for fear of more attacks but soon grips at Fareeha’s shirt and buries her face into the strong chest awaiting her. Fareeha enjoys the warm feeling that envelops them both, letting Angela’s heartbeat slow as she listens to it gently as Angela rubs random patterns on her back.

_I miss her._

The thought is so simple but it brings with it the raw emotion from earlier today, Fareeha’s throat growing thick once again.

                “I miss her too.”

Fareeha sits up slowly, propping herself on her left elbow to look down into Angela’s eyes with her mouth open in surprise. Angela could always read her mind, Fareeha had asked about her super power only to have Angela laugh and say she just knew her well enough.  Fareeha however was still always amazed Angela could do it so often and so well. She searches the blue eyes looking up at her for the pity the other team members gave Fareeha anytime Ana was mentioned. She found none, she only found Angela staring back at her with complete understanding and something more. Fareeha trusted Angela with her deeper and at times _darker_ feelings. The Egyptian cared deeply for Angela and would gladly give her life for the blonde haired doctor. She trusted her life to this woman, both figuratively and literally. She was all she needed. And it was times like this, where Angela knew just what to say that Fareeha was reminded of all that. The eyes staring back at her reminded her that the doctor had pain too, behind the glow of light blue around her iris was a darkening shadow of hurt.

 Angela had lost Ana too; Fareeha was quick to forget Angela had been but a teenager when Ana had died. But they had been close. Ana had befriended the genius doctor that Jack had recruited into Overwatch, just like Lena both were the young members Ana felt she had to look after. Ana’s death was not something Fareeha alone was left to deal with. Fareeha nods in response, taking in what Angela’s words mean. They both grieved her after all, both had been heartbroken but had both tried to move forward from it all.

Angela smiles at Fareeha, leaning upward to kiss her on the nose. Fareeha gives her a lopsided grin before leaning forward to kiss her in return. Fareeha then kisses her nose, her cheek, her forehead and then gently kisses Angela’s right temple. A secret shared between them about that certain spot. Angela lets out a loving yawn before rolling over to have her back against Fareeha’s front. Fareeha shifts so Angela can get comfortable, making sure she got the bigger pillow and that it was of course, flipped to the cooler side. She had even let Angela get the side closer to the AC so she would be able to sleep like she did back home, cold as ever. Angela just had to be cold long enough to get sleepy then it was Fareeha’s job to keep her warm throughout the night as her personal huggable heater.

“Good night, Angela.” Fareeha says with a simple kiss to Angela’s shoulder, settling into her pillow before pulling Angela close to her. Angela hums softly before snuggling backward into Fareeha and yawning again. The sleepiness surrounding them both as the day comes to a close. The trip back tomorrow would be a long flight but they would be returning home.

Fareeha secretly wanted to stay a few more days, the safe house did not have a enough rooms for everyone to have their own and herself and Lucio had been all to quick to suggest sharing with their respective girlfriends. Lucio and Hana had started dating shortly after Angela and herself, both Lucio and Fareeha shared jokes about what their respective girlfriends did that no one knew about. But sharing a bed was new to Fareeha. The first night had been a disaster with Fareeha being stiff as a board but that had been a few weeks ago. However at HQ Angela’s room was on the other side of the campus in contrast to Fareeha’s. So bed sharing was not very common, and so Fareeha enjoyed when they could. She sighed, pulling Angela as close as possible and closing her eyes gently. Angela smiles when Fareeha pulls her close, happy she has her heater and that she is not afraid to touch her anymore.

“Good night, Fareeha.”

~

It was safe to say that most of the team were definitely not morning people. The small group assembled on the helicopter pad at 0700 the next morning as per orders from Jack. The flight back to HQ would take off as soon as everyone was accounted for. Yet Jack was nowhere to be seen. The morning fog still covered the city, the sun just starting to peak over the skyline and the spell of sleepiness certainly had not left anyone yet. The ground still wet from the morning dew and the birds were still  nestled in their nests, the airfield for the most part was empty except for the few people currently huddled next to the helicopter. Oh and the gorilla too.

                “Typical. Tells us to be up before the sun and is late.” Lucio jokes with Hana, who at the moment is trying her hardest to stay awake. Lucio pokes her nose and she swats it away as she continues to search for her pillow in her backpack. She pulls out three empty bags of Doritos and her headphones before throwing her head back in a dramatic _I give up_ fashion and putting her forehead to her knees. Lucio laughs as he leans into her and looks toward the towering gentleman to his right. “Reinhardt where’s Jack?”

                “Excellent question!” Reinhardt bellows, laughing his deep belly laugh before looking back with a blank stare. He scratches at his beard and looks at his watch again. “I have no idea. Winston?”

                “Don’t look at me. I’m a scientist not a baby sitter.” Winston huffed, opening a jar of peanut butter as he enjoys his seat next to Lucio. Reinhardt was probably the most awake, or was just always loud. Either way Hana was giving him the best death glare Fareeha had ever seen.

Lucio just shrugs his shoulders before putting his headphones back on, enjoying his energy drink and listening to his newest song listening for anything that needs to be tweaked or changed. Hana has opened up her computer and leans comfortably on his shoulder. Lena, who stayed up all night gaming with the gamer girl, snores softly against Winston. Hana is used to little sleep and giggles at her screen, something about her being a gremlin was on the web and she found it to be adorable. Fareeha looks to Angela who simply shakes her head. No one had heard from Jack since he went out on his own yesterday. Fareeha hadn’t’ thought to ask him when he’d be back because besides herself, Jack was the most mysterious member of their ragtag team. Fareeha kept to herself sure but Jack was on another level completely.

 The fog begins to lift as the team awaits their leader, Winston talking to Athena through his headset about the global news. Angela snuggling up to Fareeha’s arm while they continued to wait. The minutes tick by and the team slowly starts falling back asleep where they sit while Angela, Fareeha and Reinhardt stay standing trying to fight hard to stay awake. Lucio has since leaned back against his bag with Hana laying her head in his lap as she too is sound asleep. Lena now completely out for the count against Winston’s back, cuddling into the giant ape’s warm presence. Reinhardt tries the communication line again, softly as to not wake those sleeping with their ear pieces. Finally there’s a small mumble that could maybe be Jack in response. Fareeha nods and starts searching for the illusive man. Angela looks out to the other end of the runway and motions to two figures walking up to the group. Winston nudges Lena awake, Lucio kissing Hana’s forehead to wake her up as well. Lena is on her feet almost immediately, saying she _wasn’t sleeping she swears mum_ and Winston just pats her back but doesn’t’ look away from the incoming company.

Fareeha looks down at her watch to read 0839 and then towards the figures and sees one is Jack, carrying his bags but the other figure she doesn’t recognize. It’s a female, she can tell by her body shape. She has a certain confidence in her walk, almost prideful and is talking to Jack but she can’t make out what they are saying.  Jack is , holy shit, has his mask removed and  even more surprisingly is smiling. Jack looks to the group and waves, the figure just looks on. The female has on a mask, hiding her face and as they are now within ear shot the woman has stopped walking.

                “Sorry I’m late everyone. Got a little side tracked with an old friend.” Jack motions towards the woman standing back a few feet. Jack sets down his bags and walks up to the group before looking back to the woman. Numerous emotions fly across his face, Fareeha is about to ask what his problem his but Angela beats her to it.

                “Jack. What is it?” Angela steps towards Jack but doesn’t take her eyes off the stranger. The team looks between Jack and the woman, waiting for an answer. Everyone is on their feet now, sizing up this stranger by force of habit. Fareeha feels a tension in the air between her team members and this stranger standing before them.

                “Well, uhm, you see-“

                “I’ll take it from here, Jack.” The stranger speaks up, moving towards the group. Her accent is Egyptian but that’s to be expected give where the team is. If possible despite her confident demeanor she sounds nervous. She reaches up to remove her mask. There’s a small hiss as the air tight seal breaks. The hood is also pushed back revealing a long grey, braided ponytail over the woman’s shoulder. She’s older, the age lines apparent on her face. Wisdom oozes from her eyes, and her entire aura is that of a hardened killer. Her eyes are calculating and a piercing brown, well the one eye that can be seen anyway. The other is hidden behind an eye patch. But what stands out most of all is the faded hieroglyphic tattoo beneath her eye.

                “Holy-“

                “Yo that’s-”

                “Ana!”

Lucio nearly spits his drink while Hana can’t believe her eyes, as they recognize the famed original member of Overwatch. Lena barely has anytime to take it in before she blinks forward to get a closer look, Angela gasps and grips Fareeha’s arm tighter. Reinhardt bellows with joy and moves toward Ana. Lena wraps her arms around her adoptive mother, tears already on her cheeks. Reinhardt picking them both up in a crushing bear hug, putting them down gently but not letting go of the two woman as his smile grows from ear to ear. Winston has dropped his jar of peanut butter and bounds over to touch Ana’s shoulder, as if making sure she’s actually there before joining in on the hug.

Angela has her eyes set on Fareeha, searching the soldier for any kind of emotional reaction. Fareeha glances at Angela, who gives her a small smile as she touches her shoulder. She opens her mouth to say something but quickly closes it, changing her mind at the last minute. Something flashes across the oceans of her eyes as she moves away from Fareeha towards Ana to stand next to her. Ana greets her by nodding her head gently. Fareeha was thrown by the reaction, something flashed across Angela’s eyes.  She looks to try and search Angela’s face again for an explanation but instead finds the stare of another. Ana isn’t looking at anyone except Fareeha who now can’t look away.

_Oh, shit_.

                “Hello my little bird.” Ana states, voice strong and confident but her eye betrays her showing how nervous she truly is. Everyone backs up to give her room, Reinhardt looking at Fareeha expectantly. Angela though, looks at Fareeha with fear in her eyes.

_Fear?_

Ana takes a step towards her daughter, but Fareeha in turn takes a step back. Ana stops and lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “It’s me _habibti_ , won’t you give your own mother a hug? You aren’t afraid of an old woman are you Captain Amari?”

The gently spoken words break the spell that Fareeha had been in, her body finally back under control. She takes a hesitant step forward and before she knows it she’s collided with Ana in a crushing hug. Ana chuckles and wraps her arms around her daughter’s waist and Fareeha buries her head into her mother’s shoulder, hands filled with fistfuls of Ana’s cloak.

                “You’ve gotten so tall. And strong too.” Ana strains her voice and jokes before taking a step back to look her daughter up and down. “My my, you’ve grown up so much Fareeha.”

Fareeha doesn’t say anything but instead looks down at her mother’s smile. Her eyes are filled with such sadness, polar opposite of the forced smile she’s wearing. Fareeha knows something is off; her mother had always been a terrible liar. And wore her emotions on her shoulder just like she did but this wasn’t the place to get into the storm of emotions consuming her. She would ask what was wrong later. As if reading her mind Angela clears her throat and motions for Jack to speak up.

                “Yes, well we obviously have a lot to discuss but we must get back to HQ and report our findings.” Jack, as professional as ever picks up his bag and motioning toward the aircraft. The pilot wakes with a start as Jack boards the helicopter and yells a morning greeting.

                “More like lack of reports.” Hana mutters under her breath as she pops her bubble gum and follows Jack. Lucio falls in step with her as Reinhardt helps Winston find the top to his peanut butter jar before grabbing their belongings as well. Angela grabs her bag and touches Fareeha and Ana’s shoulders, waiting for them to move. Fareeha steps back awkwardly and grabs her bag before turning to the bird at a break neck speed. She doesn’t know what is wrong with her. She has not said a word to her mother and now she’s walking away faster than what could be anything but normal. She looks back and Ana is simply smiling and heading in the same direction. Winston is walking next to her asking dozens of questions while Reinhardt grabs Ana’s bag from her. Ana smiles up at him and touches his arm gently before turning to Winston to answer yet another question. Fareeha stops to wait for her but feels a familiar touch on her arm.

_Angela_.

                “Breath. Not that I mind but I rather not give you CPR in front of anyone. Especially your mother.” Angela whispers. Fareeha looks down to meet Angela’s warm gaze and instantly relaxes in her touch. She nods and Angela smiles, gently pulling on her sleeve to get her moving again. “They’ll be time to talk when we get home yes? I know it’s a lot.”

                Fareeha can do nothing but nod and move forward, her body numb and her mind calculating. Her observation made thousands of questions fly across her mind, picking up on everyone’s reactions to seeing Ana and how Ana had been hiding something. Why had Angela looked at her like she had something to say? What we so scared of? Her reaction to seeing her mother? What? And how the hell was Angela staying so calm through all of this? Though Fareeha knew it was more than just the fact of her being alive, the feeling in her gut wasn’t sitting right and Fareeha stayed silent. Moving with Angela but never taking her eyes off her mother’s back. The wind picked up as the rotors of the helicopter began to turn, and Fareeha took a deep breath as she stepped into the bird and sat across from her very talkative mother. Ana glanced at Fareeha who would look out the window or at the floor or anywhere really to avoid eye contact with her mother really, and Ana would just shrug her shoulders before turning to answer another question from Lena.

Ana, back from the grave, would have a lot of explaining to do.

~

Fareeha was being childish. The second the aircraft had landed back at Overwatch HQ she had bolted like a bat out of hell, leaving behind both a stunned Angela and a surprised Ana. The rest of the team had stared at the elderly woman waiting for her to say something but she simply smiled and asked Jack to give her the grand tour. McCree would be ecstatic to see her and Ana herself was excited to meet the famous omnic Zenyatta. Angela however stared after where Fareeha had ran off, worry evident in her features but she was needed at the med bay immediately and she made a mental note to talk to Fareeha later. She needed to talk to Ana as well actually.

  _Ana._

 She had been all Fareeha could think about but she never imagined seeing her again, let alone sitting across from her for the past few hours as they flew home. Not one word had been spoken by Fareeha to anyone let alone Ana. Ana had been swarmed with questions by the team about where she’d been, what she had been doing but mostly she recalled old war stories to the younger adults about her days in Overwatch. Fareeha recognized nearly every story, some were new and Fareeha could not help but feel hurt she had not been told everything.

_Like you being alive. That would have been great to know._

 Ana on her end had not spoken to Fareeha at all. Both either not sure what to say or just didn’t want to be the first to speak. Angela had not been wrong when she said Fareeha was truly an Amari, both Egyptian women were beyond stubborn in their refusal to be the first to break. This felt different however, as if instead of pride getting in the two women’s way of talking it was just simply not knowing what to say. There were no calculations to be made, no scenarios to refer to; it was blunt, it was their emotions and speaking their minds. And Angela could testify at Fareeha’s inability to speak about her emotions when she desperately needed to.

That had been three days ago. Three days of Fareeha avoiding Ana and everyone else, keeping to the gym and to her room. Now Fareeha was heading to lunch when she saw Ana walking toward her. She was talking to Lena, who had not left Ana’s side since coming back.

_That’s a daughter’s welcome._

When they got a bit closer Lena saw Fareeha and immediately waved her over but Fareeha had only raised her hand in an awkward half salute half wave before turning away. Lena called after her but again Ana stayed silent and watched her daughter all but run away from her.

Fareeha reached her barracks room and all but kicked in the door.

                “Breathe. Just breathe.” Fareeha said aloud, trying to calm her mind and her body. She had dreamed of her mother being alive, of what she would say if they were ever reunited and how she would tell Ana how much she had missed her. She had played this out, every scenario she could imagine, good or bad; she played them all in her head more times than she liked to admit. And yet now that it had finally happen Fareeha found she was unable to even look her mother in the eye. She lets out a shaky breath as she sits on the edge of her bed, face falling into her hands. One of her hands run through her hair, her knee bobs up and down desperately trying to calm her thundering heart rate. “I’ve had guns pointed in my face, survived a nuclear war head, twice, and have fought things much scarier than her. Why in the hell…”

_What would she say to Ana? What should she say?_

                “Glad you’re not dead?” Fareeha says with sarcasm. She shakes her head and groans, falling backward onto the bed. What did you say to a woman that had been dead to the world for nearly a decade and then some? It was like talking to a ghost except not at all because ghosts were dead and could not voice back a response where as Ana could both respond and was very much alive. Fareeha would have to speak to her eventually, she knew that but she was sad to say she wasn’t looking forward to it. As if speaking to her mother was not what she had been wanting all these years. The memories she used to hold close to her heart to remind her of the happier days with her mother had changed into a dark orb in the pit of her stomach. Gut wrenching and growing every second, it was the worst case of butterflies ever. “Where do I even begin.”

After all why had she...?

Fareeha bolts up.

A dark thought sprinting to the front of her mind, shoving aside the memories and demonic butterflies as it concentrated her attention.

_Why hadn’t she told me she was alive_?

She could of reached out to her, wrote her a letter or been discreet somehow. Ana was thorough in everything did, that’s why she had been able to disappear so effectively. No traces of her all these years so surely, had she wanted Fareeha to know she was alive she would have. It was simply a matter of Ana not wanting Fareeha to know. But why? She could have told her. Ana could have sent someone to deliver a message, sent a damn pigeon _something_.

_Anything_.

Anger began to take over Fareeha’s thoughts, her logic quickly drowning in the rushing river of betrayal How could she do that to her? What kind of mother, no monster would just leave her only daughter behind to believe she was dead? How _could_ she? A bitter taste envelops Fareeha’s mouth as she stands from her bed in a huff, fists tightening as thousands of what if questions flood her mind but the bottom line was this: Ana had lied to her. To everyone. She had run away and left her family to believe the lie she left behind.

                “Why. Why would you do this us? To me?” Fareeha snarls. Fareeha would demand answers from her mother but first she needed to let out some of these emotions swirling inside. Going in guns blazing was never her style and it would never work against her mother. She was scared to talk to her but at the same time she needed answers, she needed to compose herself. Going to the gym was usually her go to when it came to venting out negative or built up emotions, something about punching the hell out of something really got her blood going and helped her to calm down. However she needed to get her racing thoughts together, have her counter arguments ready and have the right wording. She was calculating a scenario she had never been in, Fareeha needed someone who was used to dealing with more stress than anyone in Overwatch.

_Angela._

She would go see Angela first, gather her ideas and then confront her mother. Fareeha changed out of her uniform into joggers and a simple sweatshirt she was sure was actually Angela’s. The smell of citrus hung to the sweatshirt and confirmed this was indeed the doctor’s clothing. Fareeha took comfort in the smell of her girlfriend’s shampoo and the underlying scent of hospital chemicals that Angela could never fully get rid of.

Fareeha left her room and turned down the hallway toward the Med Bay. She knew this path by heart and could find her way with her eyes closed. Fareeha giggles at the memories of the recent nights she would sneak away from her bedroom to join another in a bedroom with better company. Or sneaking back to her room. The cuddling had taken some time if she recalled correctly but Angela had been happy to take it slow and had laughed along with her as Fareeha slowly opened up more and more. Baby steps soon turned into more curious glances and more confident touches.

Fareeha grins slyly at the memory of the first time she snuck back from an eventful night with Angela and how Lena asked if she had been punched in the neck. Jack had simply rubbed his face with both hands and walked away mumbling something about hormones and such. Needless to say Lena would never let her forget it.

She pushes the up button for the elevator and taps her foot impatiently, pressing the button again and again.

_This doesn’t help but come on._

The cheerful bell signals the lift finally arriving and Fareeha enters the elevator. She presses the button on a reflex, waiting impatiently as the elevator creaks upward. Her foot taps anxiously both from the speed at which her thoughts are racing through her mind and from the small bit of excitement at seeing Angela. It had been three days and Angela had been busy with a few casualties that had returned with Genji and Zenyatta. Needless to say, both were in need of the other’s company. The doors open achingly slow to the medical floor and Fareeha exits turning the final corner and goes through the sliding door into the medical bay. The bay itself was filled with rows of beds for casualties, multiple machines to administer fluids or nanomachines, countless operating rooms for both Angela and the other surgeons on call and it was cutting edge in both the technological and medical aspect. It was also Angela’s prison, where she spent sleepless nights grieving those she could not help in time or where she would stare at her monitors trying to find the solution to malfunctions from her nanomachines.

It was her Egyptian girlfriend’s job to come and sit with her when she needed to grieve, to make her smile through the tears and to drag her if need be so Angela would not spend her entire life in this bay. Fareeha however spent entirely too much time here either from injuries she sustained or simply to be near the head doctor. Angela never told her to leave when Fareeha would come see her, she liked having company and it was all the better if the company was Fareeha. Fareeha heads to Angela’s office in the back of the bay but stops short when she sees Angela examining a patient’s arm in a nearby examination room.

                “Really Ana, you all of people know how dangerous hesitation can be. You should have gotten this wound checked immediately, it’s nearly infected.” Angela lectures the sniper as she applies a disinfectant spray to the wound on Ana’s forearm. Ana simply chuckles, saying something that earns her a stern look and smile from Angela. A quick once over with a medical cloth and the wound is clean of any bacteria, Angela talking quietly to herself as she works the dressing. The doctor wraps the arm before grabbing her tools and cleaning up the space. Ana touches the wound on her left arm gently with her right hand as she watches the doctor work. Angela moves to the sink and begins washing her hands. “Clean it before you go to bed and change the dressing if it starts to leak. To be safe watch your heart rate, if it rises to much the wound will reopen and may bleed. If it does bleed, again change the dressing with a fresh one. If the swelling doesn’t go down come back and see me and I’ll give you a muscle relaxant to-”

                “Thank you Angela.” Ana remarks as she stands up, rubbing at her arm and stretching it out. She winces at the tenderness before beaming at Angela. “Truly thank you.”

                “Ana I’m a doctor. And your wound is nothing major-”

                “Angela I’m not talking about the wound. I’m thanking you for the burden I put on you all those years ago.” Ana explains. Angela closes her mouth and pauses washing her hands to turn to face Ana. She shakes her hands to get rid of water before rubbing them dry with her lab coat. Anger flashes across Angela’s features but is soon replaced with bitterness as Angela lets out a deep breath of annoyance and turns to the older woman. Fareeha is quick to move behind the curtain next to the adjacent bed, easy dropping is rude but Angela is never one to be harsh. This is new to her as she listens to Angela move closer to Ana, she peeks around the curtain to see Angela glaring at Ana.

_What burden? What had Ana done?_

                “Don’t you do that. Don’t you thank me for the horrible things I’ve done.” Angela responds harshly, her eyes burning into Ana. Fareeha jumps at the venom in her tone. The doctor had always been so gentle and soft spoken to everyone, rarely ever raising her voice except in the swing of the battlefield. But this wasn’t anger; this was distaste for something Ana had done.

_Or had made Angela do_.

“Don’t you thank me for not telling _them_.”

Fareeha’s heart drops, her mind raced, putting together pieces. Calculating. Dissecting every scenario in seconds, replaying the smallest of details over and over in her mind.

                “Angela I had to go ghost. I had to disappear.” Ana never looks away as she says this. Turning slightly as if to gather her thoughts and calm her rising temper. Fareeha knew that stance all too well, Ana was getting annoyed quickly. Crossing her arms in frustration, the older Egyptian woman looks over her shoulder with disapproval in her voice. “I thought you understood why I made the choices I did. You of all people should understand what it meant being a soldier, fighting the war we were fighting and having to make sacrifices.”

                “I’ll never understand why you had me lie to everyone about your death Ana.” Angela strikes back.

Ana turns back towards her with slight anger in her tone, motioning with her hands and rolling her eye when Angela has an immediate retort. Angela steps forward and pointing at Ana’s chest before making a sweeping motion with both her hands. Both women begin to argue but their words fall upon deaf ears. Fareeha stares at the two women but the world blurs around her. She can’t hear anything and her entire body goes numb as the realization of her mother’s words sink in. But more importantly the words Angela, _her_ Angela had just said.

_I’ll never understand why you had me lie to everyone about your death…_

Angela had known all along that Ana had been alive. Angela had lied to Fareeha all.

That was why Angela had looked to Fareeha first, not to Ana. Why Angela had not looked as bewildered as everyone else but had looked like a sinner in church. It had been guilt in her eyes, as she had moved away from Fareeha to greet Angela. The oceans of her eyes had been in turmoil not for Fareeha’s sake but for her own actions. Angela was afraid Fareeha would figure it out on the spot, that’s why she had avoided eye contact. The way Ana had the look of hiding something and maybe why she had been hesitant to approach Fareeha at all. That forced smile that didn’t reach her eyes, it all made sense.

Fareeha takes a step back, choking back a scream and the gut wrenching feeling of betrayal oozing its way into her chest. The dark ball in the pit of her stomach growing, pushing against her ribs and squeezing her heart tight like a vice grip. All those sleepless nights, the nightmares, that had haunted Fareeha she had shared with Angela over her mother’s death. The visit to her mother’s grave, where Angela had stood silent as she stared down at the ground where she thought her mother laid. Those long talks of Angela telling her it takes time to heal when she knew that Ana was somewhere alive.

_Hell, last night even._

Those memories once brought her such happiness; they showed how much Angela had cared for her and how close they had gotten. But it had all been an act, a lie.

_She’s proud of you…I know it to be true._

The orb in her stomach has reached her lungs, suffocating her in a blind fury. The double meaning behind those soft spoken words felt like a slap to her face. Her heart strained to keep her grounded, to now drown in the black tar that was overflowing from her stomach. Fareeha turns to leave and bumps into a cart, knocking a few tools to the floor with a metallic clatter. She freezes and looks back to see the two women staring right at her. Ana’s usual stoic demeanor is quick to change into shock as she turns towards Fareeha, taking a small step towards her.  Angela covers her mouth in a gasp as she looks directly as Fareeha, those loving blue eyes rip deep into Fareeha’s soul. The dark orb evaporates for a moment. The world disappears and it is just the two women staring at one another, Angela’s eyes begging, nearly demanding Fareeha to  ignore the truth. The brown eyes that usually held nothing but love and adoration now were hollow, empty and searching. Fareeha was looking at Angela as if she had no idea who she was.

_Like a stranger_.

                “Fareeha!” Angela calls after her. But Fareeha is already running. She sprints down the halls of HQ in a blind haze, jostled by the tar covered butterflies fluttering inside her chest, crashing into her ribs and make her ache as she ran. She can’t accept that Angela would do that to her. After all the battles, heart to hearts, late nights together how could Fareeha look into those familiar blue eyes and not recognize the woman staring back at her.

 She hears footsteps behind her and knows the sound of heels on tile well enough to know who is chasing her. Angela slides across the linoleum floor, skidding around corners as she desperately tries to catch up to her girlfriend.

Fareeha rounds a corner but she cuts the corner to fast and her shoulder connects with the wall. Fareeha sucks in a breath as she stumbles. Falling and hitting the ground hard, she rolls to her stomach and tries to catch her breath. The butterflies are escaping, spreading to her vision as the world slowly goes dark. She gasps and turns to lean back on her hands and sit. Just in time to see Angela round the corner. Out of breath the doctor bends over, hands to her knees as she catches her breath. Angela’s knees are red, Fareeha nearly speaks up as she realizes the doctor must have fallen as well.

Fareeha is on her feet in the blink of an eye, turning to but Angela shouts her name. She keeps her back to her as she hears hesitant footsteps come up behind her. Fareeha stares straight forward willing her lungs to take in more air, her heart to stop beating in her ears.

Fareeha glances back in time to see Angela reaching out towards her arm. Fareeha turns roughly away, now half facing Angela. The warm brown eyes replaced with steely black iris, cutting deep into the blue orbs staring back. Angela jumps at the rejection, noticing how hard Fareeha is breathing and realizes it isn’t from her running away but from the anger surging through her body. It grips her, her muscles tight and fists squeezed so tight her knuckles are turning white. Fareeha looks back at the doctor with her jaw set and a scowl with such fury Angela has never seen before. It scares Angela. The look of hatred in those eyes was reserved for the enemy. Not for her. Not from _her_ Fareeha.

                “Fareeha let me explain, please-”

                “Silence.” Fareeha yells and Angela physically flinches and looks away. Fareeha looks down at the ground, refusing the squeeze in her heart from the hurt she knows Angela feels. She turns away from the doctor again to collect herself as best she can.

No amount of calculating was going to fix this. The tar oozed out of her stomach, leaking into her chest. Filling her with such hatred, it leaves no room for her heart to even beat. The butterflies are in her throat now, climbing up to escape but Fareeha holds back as best she can but the swarm is growing bigger and she’s rapidly losing this battle. She was raised to be composed at all times and she would be damn if her mother or even Angela would cause her to break that streak. But damn it all, she needed to say something. Fareeha tries to steady her breathing but her eyes are blurring, this was getting bad. Fareeha hated tears, but the blind rage was breaking down the gates. Cracking at the seams and it was taking everything to keep the raging river from breaking free and consuming Angela. Fareeha takes another shaky breath before willing her eyes open to stare at the wall of the hallway.

                “Fareeha please, it isn’t how it looks _liebling_.” Angela whispers.

_Liar._

The butterflies have done it, broken past her throat and fly to surround her. The gates come crashing down, the dark, haunting tar bleeding out of her. She wasn’t going to be lied to again, not by Angela of all people. Not anymore. Fareeha turns to Angela, taking one step toward her which causes Angela to stumble back two as she raises her hand to point directly at the doctor’s chest as her vision blurs through fresh tears.

                “Wrong. This is exactly how it looks. You lied to me. For years. For _years_ Angela. And all I did was blindly trust you, I believed you when you came and told me she was truly gone. I believed you when you said I would heal over time, how you missed Ana too and how my mother was dead. But they were all lies!” Fareeha wasn’t holding back anymore. The butterflies set free were swarming beside her now, egging her on as she let her words fill with venom. The tar gathering at her feet in a puddle, creeping towards Angela as Fareeha let the words she’d been holding back out.

                “Fareeha I was just trying to-” Angela begins, her eyes shine bright as tears form at their base.

                “Trying to what? Heal me? By lying to me about her death? For making me believe she was gone? Angela you stood beside me at her funeral! I had to mourn my mother. I had to learn to live without her and you said nothing. All those days I begged for her to show me what it meant to be an Amari. The days I wished for tea with her…You lied, telling me how I made her so damn proud. Did she tell you that? Did you two have lunch dates while I went to visit her grave? What else have you lied to me about? Did you lie about how you felt about us? About me?”

_Have I been nothing but a lie to you?_

                “Fareeha that’s not fair.” Angela retorts, the slight anger in her voice only makes the soldier grit her teeth in frustration. Fareeha knows it isn’t, none of this was fair.

                “No what’s not fair is you keeping this from me Angela. What’s not fair is a little girl having to be without her mother, without someone to teach her how to grow up and live in this unforgiving world. What’s not fair is spending Mother’s Day looking down at a grave instead on into the eyes of the woman who could have raised me. What’s not fair is the sheer fact that you got to know that she was alive while I thought I’d _never_ see her again!” Fareeha fires back. She shakes her head and takes a step back. “Is there any other secrets I need to know? Or would you prefer to tell me 10 years from now?”

Fareeha lets the words fill the space between them, the anger swirling around her and blurring her vision as she stares at Angela. The tar has completely left her body now, it pools at her feet and has splattered in every direction. The butterflies are gone, the anger lingering but Fareeha’s heart begins to recover. Fareeha’s lungs filing with fresh air, her mind replaying everything and the last of the butterflies freezing in the space between them.  As soon as the harsh comments leave her mouth, Angela’s eyes flash with hurt. Fareeha stares back, Angela feels like she’s been slapped the way her face falls, physically shaking as Fareeha’s anger hits her and splatters. She looks down at the ground and simply shaker her head at Fareeha’s bombardment of questions.

_Say something Angela. Please._

Fareeha wants to continue but there’s nothing more she wants to say. She almost wants the guilty woman to be angry and to yell back. To hurt her, to make her feel anything but this sickness that controls her. She wants Angela to hurt her more, to justify the tar that had been boiling in her chest. Fareeha looks away and turns away from the doctor, turning her back to Angela. She waits. Expecting, no _daring_ , Angela to have a retort or to try to explain her actions but all Fareeha gets is a deafening silence that threatens to suffocate them both. The last butterfly lands on Angela before Fareeha looks over her shoulder.

                “Nothing to say Dr. Ziegler? Seems you have a habit of not telling me anything.” Fareeha walks away. Leaving Angela alone in the hallway, never looking back as she feels the tears drip off her chin. She presses the button and hears the groaning of the elevator rising to take her far away from the doctor. The ding echoes through the halls, as Fareeha steps on she presses the button for the basement. Glancing up just as the doors slide shut she see Angela looking at the floor, standing in a puddle of tar with a single butterfly on her chest over her heart.

Fareeha is long gone by the time Ana catches up to find Angela standing in an empty hallway. Frozen and shaking Angela doesn’t move as Ana walks up. She’s staring down the hallway as if there is someone coming. The blue eyes are scanning the hallway, searching for an answer that doesn’t exist.

                “Angela?” Ana whispers, gently trying to pull the doctor back into reality. It does the trick and Angela blinks before focusing on the person standing in front of her, not knowing that she had been standing there in the hallway for so long. Ana is taken back at the tears rolling down her cheeks. Angela had held it in for as long as she could, Fareeha always hated to see her favorite doctor cry but now Angela wasn’t so sure if that still rang true. She deserved every word Fareeha had thrown at her. All of that built up sadness had drowned into fury and it was well earned.

Angela had lied. No denying that. Ana reaches out to touch Angela’s shoulder but the doctor flinches away, shaking her head as she wipes at the tears pouring from her eyes.

Fareeha had always been the strong one of the two. Angela could cry and be emotional, rant about the mission and sob when they lost soldiers. But this time was different. Now it was Fareeha who had let out everything she was feeling and it was Angela who had to stand and take it. It was her time to be stoic and hide her emotions, but her strength was nothing compared to Fareeha’s. Her throat was growing thick, her eyes burned and her shoulders jumped with the sob that was pushing to escape. Angela did what she could but seeing her Fareeha, her soldier walk away from her with such hostility was all she could bear. She focuses on Ana once more before turning and walking away from the older woman. Angela buries her face in her hand as she turns the opposite direction of Fareeha; ashamed of what she had done to the one woman she cared for the most. How could she face her? There was nothing to be said, the guilt would eat her alive like it had as she looked at Fareeha when she had yelled at her. Her pace quickens as she rounds the corner, disappearing from Ana’s sight.

Ana stands there, watching the doctor slip away. Over her years Ana had seen the grief stricken faces of many people, across battlefields and in cities plagued by war. The expression “eyes were the window to a person’s soul” had never been more evident. Angela’s soul was shattered. Her eyes were drowning in sorrow. Love was a painful thing, and Ana had seen the love between them the second she and Jack had walked up but this was new to her. Something Ana had never seen in the usually confident and collected doctor. She was heartbroken. Angela always kept it together in front of the team but, it would seem her daughter had the ability to break through even the doctor’s shield. Ana shakes her head and turns the opposite direction of the doctor. She shakes out her shoulders, taking a deep breath as she heads out to find the only person capable of restoring Angela: her daughter.

Ana starts with Fareeha’s personal room, next she checks the courtyard, the library, and just about any other quiet place Ana could think of that someone in a rage would go to. It hits Ana then, just how little she truly knew about her daughter. Not knowing how Fareeha would deal with a discovery like this, who she would go to or where she would go to cool down. She is walking through a corridor outside of the main building when she sees a muscular woman with pink hair sitting at a table underneath a towering tree. She’s in deep conversation with another woman, much smaller and who is wearing a very thick coat. The smaller woman fiddles with her glasses as she explains something, motioning with her hands to her counterpart. Ana sweats just looking at the woman’s coat but walks up to the two women.

As she approaches she notices a man is laying next to the table. The man seems to be balding but Ana sees that he is younger than most, blonde hair growing on his head in patches.. The man doesn’t stir as she walks up; sound asleep with a tire of some sort as his pillow.

                “Excuse me, I don’t mean to interrupt.” Ana says curtly, trying to sound as professional as possible to these two strangers and quietly as to not wake the third.

                “It’s no problem, _vhat_ can we do for you Ms. Amari?” The taller woman responds, her accent making it obvious to Ana the woman is from Russia. Ana smiles knowingly, putting two and two together and realizes she’s speaking to Aleksandra Zaryanova, “Zarya” a soldier from the Russian Defense Force. A remarkable soldier Ana had hoped to meet under better circumstances. Angela had spoken highly of her courage on the battlefield and she thought the doctor had exaggerated on the muscular build of the soldier but Ana was surprised to see she was dead on with her “jacked” description.

                “Have you seen Fareeha?” Ana asks, might as well get straight to the point. Observing the scar above Zarya’s right eye and how fiercely her green eyes shine. She glances at the other woman, taking note she comes off very shy, her face youthful but her eyes are beyond her years. Her hair is up in a bun, and there is a small robot sitting on her shoulder staring up at Ana. “It would seem I cannot find her, would you happen to know where she is?”

                “ _Da_ , she was heading to the gym. Saw her on the elevator bout and hour or so ago. Looked mighty angry too. Very uncommon for Fareeha to show such emotion.” Zarya answered, she looked over at the other woman. Concern evident in her eyes as the smaller woman touched her hand gently. Zarya looked up at Ana and pointed past her shoulder. “It is over by the briefing room, in basement.”

Ana nodded and turned on her heel, leaving the two women to get back to their conversation. The man let out a snore and rolled over to his side, clutching what looked like a small ball tightly to his chest. Ana would introduce herself to the three properly later. She was intrigued to know more about this Antarctica project the other woman began talking about and to find out why the man was missing most of his hair and smelled so strongly of gasoline. Ana made her way quickly to the western corner Zarya had pointed to, taking the elevator down to the basement.

Walking up she pushed the down button and waited for the lift to shift into movement. Ana pushed the button repeatedly, knowing it wouldn’t help but patience had never been a strong suit for any Amari.

When the doors opened, she stepped inside and pushed the basement button. Doors shutting quietly Ana took a deep breath, for the first time in what felt like decades Ana Amari was nervous. She was unsure of what was about to happen, what would be said and ran through scenario after scenario but Fareeha was not the little girl she was when Ana had left. The older woman could only speculate how her daughter was going to react to her newly returned mother chasing after her. If Fareeha’s stubbornness or temper was anything like Ana’s, they were in for quite the talk.

The elevator bell goes off, the doors sliding open to reveal windows everywhere. The gym itself was completely see through from the entrance to the very back wall. The open concept revealing a giant assortment of weight machines, treadmills, a pool, a track and a few assorted courts for different sports. However, the sporadic figure in the far right corner caught her eye immediately. The lone figure was circling a punching bag, throwing combinations of punches and hard kicks followed.  As she approached Ana noted the lack of good form and the stance was sloppy at best. Not something Ana expected of her daughter, however it was clear the intent of this workout was not to work on form but to let out steam. Lots of steam too.

The bag was taking a brutal beating, swinging back and forth as Fareeha kicked at it, landed a right hook, combination, uppercut, followed  with another hard kick, this one a roundhouse landing dead center and causing the chains holding the bag to strain against the force. Fareeha if she noticed Ana’s presence said nothing but continued her uncoordinated yet unmistakably powerful attacks on the bag.

                “Your form is suffering my little bird.” Ana chastises. Fareeha’s shoulders twitch, briefly acknowledging the critique but continued with several quick jabs. Ana laughs as Fareeha stumbles slightly after a uncoordinated kick. “They will promote anyone to Captain these days it seems.”

Fareeha stops momentarily before letting out a yell and kicking the bag once more, the hit landing dead center again but with enough momentum to bring the chains to the breaking point. The chains snap, the bag falling to the floor with a thud as Fareeha turns around to face her audience.

                “If I didn’t want to speak to Angela, what gives you the idea you would be any better?” Fareeha spits. The first words she’s spoken to her mother since her disappearance and Fareeha hates to see that they are filled with anything besides happiness. Or relief. “And that rank was earned.”

                “Come now. When have you ever wanted to talk to me?” Ana simply says back, she sits on one of the benches. She ignores the way Fareeha rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. “If I remember correctly I always had to be the one to start the conversation Fareeha. You were never much of a talker.”

“Kind of hard to talk to a dead woman.”

Ana stares her daughter down, unblinking and unrelenting as Fareeha stares back with the same dark brown orbs. She almost chuckles at how alike they are.

                “Well here I am, no more excuses.”

Fareeha stares back at this woman, at her mother and makes the decision that she won’t be silent anymore. These past few days had been torture for her. Not knowing what to say or how to even begin, yet Fareeha was filled with the confidence to say everything she needed to. The anger gave her confidence and that was dangerous, but at this point she needed to run with it. Though the confidence was fueled by anger, it was confidence none the less.

_Fine, then let’s talk._

                “Surprised you remember how I was before. I would have thought you being gone so much you would forget who I was. Or really how would you know anything about me _‘ami_?” Fareeha sneers, she removes the tape from her fingers and wipes at the sweat on her face and neck

                “I did the best I could Fareeha, a better life was all I ever wanted for you-”

                 “Don’t you do that.” Fareeha interrupts, throwing the towel down and taking strides toward Ana. “Don’t you sit there and tell me you wanted a better life for me, that the few memories I have with you meant the world to you. Or how you were somehow noble in leaving me behind.”

                “Fareeha Amari. You would do well to watch that tone of yours.” Ana warns, her eyes reflecting the fire Fareeha was playing with. “Regardless of your current mental and emotional state, I did what was best for you. You don’t realize that now, you may never realize what it meant when Overwatch fell. I did what I had to do to ensure your safety. Angela did not deserve your anger and here I thought you had matured into an adult who could see beyond her own personal emotions to see the big picture. I thought I raised you better.”

_I was not raised by you._

Fareeha opened her mouth but found her voice had left her. She stared at her mother completely in awe. How could a woman be so blinded that she thought she had done Fareeha a favor by disappearing? The truth was Ana was still thinking bigger then Fareeha, Ana was calculating just like her daughter. Taking into account every possibility before making a decision, but Ana had only thought how her disappearance would affect herself. How it would affect Overwatch and her mission, her war she had been fighting in.

_I’m still not your priority._

                “Why couldn’t you just stay dead.” Fareeha whispers. Not realizing the words as they left her mouth, filling the little space between the two women.

                “Don’t mumble Fareeha, it makes it impossible for someone to-“

                “I said why couldn’t you have just stayed dead!” Fareeha roars. Ana, as stoic as her expression had been up until now was now replaced with utter shock. Her mouth slightly open, Ana stared back at Fareeha with curiosity and mild surprise in her eyes. Had Fareeha not been staring so intensely, she would have missed the hurt that flashed across her mother’s body. Fareeha ran her hands through her hair before pointing at her mother’s chest. “I had accepted that you were gone. It would have been so much easier if you’d just stayed dead.  I wouldn’t have this rock in my stomach, I wouldn’t have been unable to sleep, I wouldn’t have yelled at Angela but most of all I wouldn’t have had to have you back in my life just to realize why I had _never_ been a big part of yours.”

Ana said nothing, she simply continued to sit and stare as Fareeha continued to let out years and years of hidden away emotions. Ana was many things. Intentionally cruel had never been one of them. Not to her daughter and after all this time, Fareeha was entitled to speak her mind. And though Ana would never admit it, she had always wanted Fareeha to speak out, to be assertive with her emotions and to be brutally blunt and honest like Ana had always been. So Ana remained silent, waiting for whatever language and raw emotion Fareeha was going to douse her in.

                “Do go on little bird, tell me what you are truly thinking.” Ana challenged and she braced for it, she was going to take anything Fareeha threw at her. This as her punishment, fully earned and Ana knew there was no way to move forward until Fareeha was able to let go of what was behind her.

                “I buried you. I mourned you! I had to learn so much from the people you left behind. Jack left soon after you disappeared, Gabriel was lost to us and all I had left was the scattered remains of the team you left behind to deal with your death.  How dare you say you did this for me, you did it for yourself. All those years I grew up fighting, competing with your mission and your _war_ to try and mean something to you. I was never your priority. For you to never tell me, to make me go on believing that I had lost you…no mother does that. No human does that…I needed you. When I failed a test, when we lost a soldier, when I found Reaper…I needed you. But you weren’t here.” Fareeha was fighting to keep her voice steady, but it was cracking and her voice grew thick with emotion.  She began to shake, all this time she had wanted her mother back. But now that she had her back, she held nothing but anger towards her. And she hated it. Ana stared back, unwavering with that warm brown gaze, pulling Fareeha in and letting her be enveloped,

“I fell apart over you as you ran away…”

_I don’t want to hate you._

“All the missed birthdays, the visits to your grave…you left me behind. But you know the worst part? I was so upset with myself, because how could I miss someone I barely knew? Why couldn’t I hate you for what you had made me feel, how I had to fight for your love and attention. Why I was never good enough. I wanted to hate you but I could never, _never_ bring myself to even say it aloud. All I could do was miss you…I have missed you so much it would ache. Always. I just wanted my you back, I wanted my mom back…”

Ana stood then, moving towards Fareeha to grab her shoulders and pull her into a fierce hug. Fareeha reacted immediately, wrapping her arms around her mother’s waist, pulling her as close as she could. Fareeha felt the gentle drops of tears on her shoulder, she was sure she was leaving her tears on Ana’s shoulder as well. Ana was shaking, holding the back of Fareeha’s head as she held her daughter for the first time in a decade. She was so tall, so strong and nothing like the little girl Ana had left behind. She was her own woman and it broke Ana’s heart to realize how much she had missed. Ana gripped her tightly as Fareeha let out a shaky breath.

                “Fareeha, I never meant for you to feel that way.” Ana pulls back to grip her daughter’s face fiercely, wiping away the tears with the back of her hand. Fareeha’s eyes are shining bright with tears, Ana sees herself reflected in those dark orbs. Ana looks at the woman staring back at her through her daughter’s eyes, at the gray hair and wrinkles on her face. It had been too long since she had looked into those familiar eyes. Ana shook her head and continued, “That day when I finally got to see you, I couldn’t believe who I was looking at. You had grown up so much, gotten so big and I didn’t recognize my own daughter. For the first time I was scared, how could I not recognize my little bird? The guilt from my lie consumed me, and I know you saw it. But Fareeha understand this, you never needed to compete for my love, for my attention, for anything. And I was a fool for not seeing what I was doing to you. For what I was turning you into. You were my pride and joy Fareeha, you always have been.”

Fareeha, for the first time in years, smiled back at her mother. Ana’s face breaks into a smile, ruffling Fareeha’s hair and touching the tattoo under her eye.

“I am a soldier Fareeha, and my secretive habits are something I have to learn to do without. Old habits die hard you know, but I am not the woman I was when I left you. I’ll try to be better. I won’t leave you again, I don’t think my heart could bare it again.” Ana shakes her head slightly, trying to apologize for everything but she sighs. Looking down as she places her hands on Fareeha’s shoulders, gripping them firmly. “But please don’t be angry with Angela.”

Fareeha’s heart sinks as Ana says these words, the butterflies threatening to consumer her once more but not with rage. This time she fears being engulfed by sadness. Regret wraps around her heart, the words she had said to Angela playing back over and over. Her anger had gotten the best of her, and she had acted foolishly.

                “Angela wanted me to tell you Fareeha, she begged me to come to your promotions. She’d tell me about how wonderful you were doing with the Egyptian Army, how many lives you saved and how you protected the innocent like you said you would. But I made her carry my burden. She wanted me to tell you, or for me to let her tell you but…I wouldn’t let her. You must believe me when I say Angela never wanted to hurt you. She wanted you to be happy. That’s all she’s ever wanted.”

Fareeha stared into her mother’s eyes, searching for deception but finally, she saw nothing but sincerity shining brightly in her those hazel eyes. She could only nod before ducking her head back down to hug her mother tightly. Ana rubs her back gently.

                “Don’t let my mistakes be the reason you two fall apart Fareeha.” Fareeha’s eyes shoot open as she takes a step back to look down at her mother. Ana only smiles simply, a coy look in her eye as she taps her daughter’s nose. “You can’t fool these eyes little bird, I see the way the doctor looks at you. And the gaze you give her in return. I approve. You two contradict one another, having what the other does not, and two sides of the same sword. She’s quite the catch and of course my daughter is a prize herself. Oh the way she looks at you Fareeha, anyone could tell.”

Fareeha blushes harshly but hopes her intense workout and even more intense venting session mask it. Leave it to her mother to not pick up on her bottled up emotions but be able to figure out there was something going on between the two women. It had taken even a Lena a good month to figure it out.

                “However, in that hallway I saw something that scared me. I saw great pain _habibti_.” Ana says softly. “Angela is strong when it comes to war, to patients and to death but, when it comes to you Fareeha, you are her weakness. You must go to her. We will talk more another day. When we both are calmer, and perhaps over some tea yes?”

_Like old times._

“Agreed.” Fareeha nods, her heart soaring at the thought of having tea with her mother once again. She wipes at her face and quickly moves towards the exit before looking back her mother. She turns just in time to catch something Ana tosses to her, looking into her hands she doesn’t really know what it is as she examines it. It’s some sort of device, Fareeha looks up at Ana with a questioningly look and Ana waves her hand as if to say _ask me later_. Fareeha puts the round object in her pocket as Ana turns her back to her as she stares down at the punching bag that lays on the floor still.

_Shit. Broke another punching bag, Aleksandra is gonna kill me._

“I’ll fix that by the way. You gonna tell me what this is?”

                “Remind me to never get into a sparring match with you.” Ana winks as she looks over her shoulder. If she heard the question she ignores and waves her hand at Fareeha in a _move along_ motion. “Now go, Angela will surely be hiding away in her med bay study if my memory serves me well.”

Fareeha stares at Ana for a moment before dashing to the elevator, a small grin on her lips as she makes her way to the very room Ana had mentioned. Fareeha lets a chuckle escape her lips as she pushes the button for the medical floor. Pushing the up button constantly until the elevator arrives.

_Old habits die hard indeed._

As soon as the bell goes off, indicating Fareeha has reached her destination her confidence flies out the doors. Leaving her with nothing but guilt as she stares at closed doors. Her heart clenches at the harsh words she had yelled at Angela. Fareeha rubs her face, she couldn’t believe she had actually lost her temper on Angela of all people.

                “This is gonna be rough.” Fareeha sighs. The elevator doors slide open and Fareeha takes a step forward, although it feels like she’s taking a dive off a skyscraper without her Raptora suit.

There’s an almost eerie silence as she enters the medical bay, a few of the nurses are going about their business with paperwork or helping some recovering soldiers through physical therapy. Fareeha walks past the rooms and medical machines, their soft humming and the smell of bleach are almost comforting to her. She had come to look forward to her visits here to see a certain doctor, but this certain doctor was most definitely not out in the bay. Taking a deep breath Fareeha turns to her right and heads to Angela’s private study towards the rear of the ward. The door is shut which meant to most Overwatch members that Angela was not to be bothered. Fareeha wasn’t most people however and stopped just shy of the door. Her hand shaking slightly as it reached for the door with sudden nervousness and Fareeha felt a chill go down her spine. She had not been this nervous since she first started to realize her affections for Angela.

_It’s only Angela, stop being such a coward._

Fareeha took one last deep breath before knocking gently on the door, not knowing if just going in would be the answer. Her knock seems to echo deep inside her, as if she’s knocking of her own chest trying to see if anyone is still in there. Silence is the only answer at the door, no shuffling of papers or a warm welcome, nothing to indicate that the doctor is in or wants to see anyone. Fareeha sighs, knocking again.

                “It’s me.”

Fareeha is worried to have said anything, maybe Angela might have opened the door if it were someone else but now that she knows it’s her, she may keep the door shut. Fareeha strains her ears to hear anything, and she hears the slightest clicking of heels on tile, moving closer to the door. Her heartbeat kicks up a notch, realizing it may have been better if Angela not be around. The sound of a deadbolt being unlocked is unmistakable but the door does not open, Fareeha takes this as the best shot of an invitation she’s going to get and opens the door slowly. Time slows, scenario after scenario playing through her head as her eyes adjust to the dark office. Coming face to face with a red eyed, puffy faced Angela. Her hair is in a messy bun and her glasses hanging loosely on her grey t-shirt collar, her lab coat is thrown haphazardly on the floor and Angela’s arms are crossed. However her body language isn’t angry or annoyed, it’s subconsciously scared and heartbreakingly sad. Angela looks down at the ground, seconds tick by before she looks up to meet Fareeha’s gaze. Blue oceans collide with a chocolate storm as the two woman stare at one another, both holding their breath.

                “How can I help you Captain Amari?” Angela’s voice surprises them both with how weak and foreign it sounds. She hadn’t expected such a professional statement, let alone to be asked a question. Fareeha raises her hand to rub at her neck, a nervous habit of hers. Fareeha’s heart bursts at the emotions raging inside those blue eyes, she sees sadness, longing, love but most of all she sees unbridled guilt staring back at her.

_Longing for forgiveness._

Angela looks for only a second before glancing at Fareeha’s hand on her neck and her face contorting to one of concern. “ _Mein gott_ , Fareeha, your hand…”

Fareeha’s eyes widen curiously as she moves her hand from her the back of her neck to look at it. Sure enough her knuckles were red; some cracking and there was a small amount of blood smeared on the backs of her hands. No sooner has she checked her hands Angela has moved into Fareeha’s space and grabbed both hands gently. The contact makes Fareeha blush, but Angela is in doctor mode and does not seem to notice how dangerously close she is to Fareeha. Quickly using her keen eye to scan every bump and scratch on the woman’s hands.

                “They’re inflamed, the cracking is from the skin drying out and the blood is no doubt from the impact of your hits on the bag’s leather. How long were you down there?” Angela mumbles, talking so fast most never understand her when she’s examining anyone but Fareeha was well trained in Angela fast paced tone. Fareeha grins, Angela already knowing exactly where and what Fareeha had been doing makes her heart flutter. “Come here I’ll fix it up.”

Angela grips Fareeha’s wrist, pulling her out of the study back into the med bay. Fareeha, not knowing any better follows behind with a hidden grin. Angela was a doctor through and through, no matter what turmoil her emotions may be in, no matter what personal struggles she was going through she could focus on others at the drop of a hat. It was like she had switch between worrying about herself and worrying about those around her. Fareeha had become one of the proud few who could help the combat experienced medic switch back into the loving, shy woman she knew Angela to be.

                “Sit.”

Fareeha complies and sits on the edge of an examination table, holding her hands out palms down as Angela applies a spray. Sitting on the table she was a good foot taller than Angela as the doctor worked on removing the dried on blood. Fareeha leans forward to get closer but in no time Angela is wrapping Fareeha’s hands in thin gauze. Angela is so close that Fareeha can smell her favorite citrus shampoo; she looks down at the doctor whose attention is completely on treating her patient. Her hands are achingly warm as she wraps around Fareeha’s palm, their fingers gliding across one another. The gentle touch does nothing to help Fareeha focus. She’s supposed to be apologizing.

                “Angela…” Fareeha whispers, gently taking the doctor’s hands in her own, stopping her from wrapping. Angela looks up in confusion, and as if finally remembering their last encounters and how close she was to Fareeha. Angela stiffened and took a step back to put a space between them.

                “Fareeha, you need time to cool down and to forgive-”

                “I already have.” Fareeha says soothingly, leaning down slightly to put her face level with Angela’s. Angela tries and fails to hid the shock that envelopes her body, going rigid she shakes her head, looking away from the gaze of those warm chocolate eyes. “Angela, look at me.”

Fareeha lets go of one of Angela’s hand to gently grab her chin, her thumb gripping gently to lift her face up to up at her. Angela still does not make eye contact, forcing herself to blink harder, the fresh tears making those ocean eyes shine brighter.

                “I lied to you.” Angela’s voice betrays her attempt to sound more put together then she feels. She lifts her hands to gently grip Fareeha’s arm, holding herself steady but she fears Fareeha might pull back. “You had every right to feel betrayed and upset, and I was wrong to keep it from you and I have no excuse. I know I can never make this up to you, or to Ana or to anyone. It wasn’t my place to keep Ana out of your life. You have no reason to, but Fareeha please believe me when I say I wanted to tell you.”

                “I believe you.”

                “I know you don’t and it’s-” Angela stutters as she closes her mouth and finally looks up at Fareeha. Staring back at her is the woman she’s come to care for not the harsh soldier that had yelled at her hours earlier. Fareeha’s eyes were shining bright with affection, pulling her in like they always did. This was her Fareeha, a knowing and somehow warm smile graces her face as she stares up completely dumbfounded.

                “I believe you Angela. I was upset yes, but, Ana came and talked to me. Well, kinda.” Fareeha explains a bit embarrassed as she remembers yelling for most of her talk with her mother. “She told me about you Angela. How you wanted to tell me.”

                “ _Mein gott_ I did.” Angela lets out in a cry, her head falling forward into Fareeha’s chest. Fareeha rests her chin on top of Angela’s head, one hand wrapping around to rub her back and the other was being held in a vice grip by Angela against her chest. “Fareeha, even if I had, had the courage to tell you. Even if I had gone back on my word how could I have ever looked you the eye again? How could I look at you and tell you she was alive? I couldn’t do that to you, you had worked so, _so_ hard your entire life to make her proud…me telling she was alive would of…”

Fareeha realized at that moment what Angela was saying, what her words meant and why she had stayed silent all those years.

                “It would have made me think I would never be good enough. That I wasn’t good enough to know she was alive, to be trusted by her, that I still was not her mission in life. It would have made me feel that her war would always be at the front her mind…that she could walk away from me but not from the war.”

Angela nods slowly, raising her head with tears in her eyes and the first few running down her cheeks. She raises one hand to touch Fareeha’s cheek, taking a deep breath Angela nods again.

                “I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t cause you that pain, so I just accepted that this was how it was going to be. I accepted the pain I had. I would bare it, I would stand by and watch you grow up and become the woman you were while she couldn’t. I would have bared it forever if I had to, so that you could be at peace knowing your mother was so incredibly proud of you.”

                “I’m sorry I yelled at you, it was not you I was angry with. Her past decisions were not yours to pay for, and for that I am deeply sorry.” Fareeha bows her head now, looking down at the floor. She was embarrassed to have lost control, especially with Angela being the victim of her temper.

Angela raises her other hand to hold Fareeha’s face gently, moving forward to kiss her forehead. Fareeha looks up and presses her forehead to Angela’s, hesitating only a moment before raising her finger to touch Angela’s right temple. She slowly rubbed in a circular pattern with her thumb as she kissed Angela’s nose. Whenever Angela got very upset, and cried for a long time, she would get a headache directly at her right temple. When Fareeha had found out, she thought the doctor was kidding but like clockwork, the headache would annoy Angela at the exact spot every time. It soon became habit of the soldier to place kisses or to rub there whenever the opportunity presented itself. Whenever Angela was upset. Fareeha moves her lips to place a ghost of a kiss there, Angela grinning as she accepted the affectionate touch.

                “You cried because of me.” Fareeha whispers, leaning back to look at Angela. “I also deeply apologize for this as well doctor.”

                “ _Meine geliebte_ , you are human. You get angry but seldom show it, you put others before yourself but have never hesitated to show me the other side to the mysterious Captain Amari.” Angela responds back warmly. “And that is why I care so deeply about you. But please, do not take it out of the punching bag so much. You’ve broken so many already, and you have such pretty hands.”

                “Add another to the list I’m afraid _habibti_.” Fareeha chuckles as she admits her newest victim to her, smiling down at her Angela while she grabs her wrist to pull her into her for a hug. “But I promise not to hide my emotions so much from you, and you must promise to try the same. As easy as you are to read, sometimes I don’t know where you are.”

                “Agreed. Remind me to never get you upset with me, you are chilling when you lose your temper. Winston has nothing on you, and he changes color.” Angela squeezes Fareeha, taking in her warmth and that spice smell that welcomes her back. She feels something in Fareeha’s pocket and leans back enough to look down and poke at the object. “What do you have?”

                “Oh, Ana gave it to me as I was leaving.” Fareeha remembers as she pulls out the small device. “I’m not sure what it is actually.”

Angela takes the small contraption into her hands and examines it closely; she gasps and gives Fareeha a knowing smile. Fareeha can only look back in confusion as the doctor presses a small button she hadn’t noticed. The machine whirls to life, small blue lights flickering on and the mechanism opens slightly before presenting a hologram. The hologram is of a small girl, very young with hair dark as the night sky in braids on either side of her cheeks. The braids are held by golden pendants, the little girl is looking up at whoever took the shot and smiles a goofy grin before laughing although there is no audio to be heard.

                “That’s…”

                “It is. That would be you, _meine schone_.” Angela giggles as she recalls the memory of Ana showing her this same device a decade ago. How Ana would brag about her daughter to everyone, how proud she was of her “… _strong little bird_ …” and how much she loved Fareeha. How she missed her so when she was away, and how she wanted so much for the little girl. “Your mother would show you off wherever we went. Bragged even, always telling people you were going to take this world by storm. How you were going to be the finest Amari yet.”

                “I had no idea.” Fareeha’s voice is soft, in awe as she stares at the hologram loop the animation over and over. All these years and Fareeha would of never guessed Ana carried this around with her everywhere she went, smiling slightly at the idea of her mother bragging about her to fellow Overwatch members.

                “Ana told anyone that would listen how proud she was of you, and how she loved you more than anything. It would seem she just forgot to tell you, but she always carried you with her Fareeha. I told you, she thought of you always. No matter where she went, you were with her.” Angela hands Fareeha back the device and smiles at the child like smile her girlfriend gives her.

Fareeha closes the lid and the hologram dissipates, the machine humming quietly before shutting down and going silent. Fareeha looks back to Angela and cannot stop her smile from growing. Angela had not told her of her mother’s secret but she had done something more. She had made sure Fareeha was loved, that Fareeha never turned to hatred when it came to Ana and most of all made sure that Fareeha knew how much pride she brought her mother. Her happiness hadn’t come from the gentle words Angela would say on bad days but from the words she would tell her on the good days.

_Your mother would be so proud. I’m so proud of you Fareeha._

_That’s her little bird, good job meine schone. Well done, there’s my little bird._

_You’re truly an Amari._

All those times Angela had complimented her, Fareeha had just thought those words had come from her but now she knew, they had come from them both. From Angela and her mother alike, living on in her life together as if nothing had ever changed and guiding her along. And maybe things hadn’t. Not really.

                “You were giving me messages all along…” Fareeha says aloud as she realizes the thought. Angela shrugs as she nods to confirm Fareeha’s suspicion. She giggles before going on her tip toes to kiss Fareeha gently. Fareeha smiles at the contact, moving in to kiss her again. Angela chuckles as Fareeha tightens her grip on her waist, tickling her slightly.

                “Now what have I told you about tickling Fareeha Amari?” Angela gives her best stern look but her laugh throws off the intended effect. She looks up coyly at the smug grin of her soldier, before leaning in to kiss the tattoo under her eye. Fareeha closes her eyes gently; waiting for Angela to kiss her again but when she doesn’t Fareeha opens her eyes to see Angela staring up at her with wide eyes.

                “What?”

                “Ana is going to kill me.”

Fareeha lets out a hearty laugh and can only kiss Angela again as she pulls the smaller woman in for a hug. Angela insists she is going to receive another Amari wrath but Fareeha will tell her later that they have nothing to worry about. That Ana already knows and that she had welcomed the idea. Maybe they would talk with Ana about how they ended up together and catch up for the lost time these past years. Fareeha kissed Angela again, glad they had made up. Glad Angela had taken care of her all these years and so happy she could return the favor and care for the good doctor. There was a lot to talk about, a lot to look forward to and a lot of hardships ahead of them but they’d make it through. There were plenty of scenarios to play through, calculations to make and variables to consider. But for now, Fareeha was content with holding Angela as she continued to worry about Ana finding out she was dating her daughter. She’d have a sit down with her mother and Angela and finally, would be able to talk things out.

_All over a nice hot cup of tea._

_Woot._


End file.
